The invention generally relates to direct current systems and, more particularly, to a system and method for detecting ground fault in the direct current systems.
Direct current (DC) power transfer systems are becoming increasing popular over alternating current (AC) power transfer systems for transmitting power in various applications. One such application includes marine applications, which may further include marine ship building and propulsion systems for marine applications. The DC power transfer systems are being employed by ship owners over the AC power transfer systems as the DC power transfer systems have multiple advantages over the AC power transfer systems. Some of the advantages may include for example, better efficiency, lower emissions, lower noise levels, and higher availability.
However, currently available DC power transfer systems have limitations in detecting ground faults occurring in the DC power transfer systems. Conventional DC power transfer systems employ a grounding mechanism which includes a plurality of resistors and a plurality of capacitors coupled to a power source in parallel. The plurality of resistors and the plurality of capacitors help in providing a ground reference voltage and stabilizing the ground reference voltage respectively. Although, upon occurrence of a fault at a load, the plurality of capacitors are discharged via a ground loop, which generates a pulse current. The grounding mechanism employed in the conventional DC power transfer systems is unable to detect such pulse current, which leads to undesirable results.
Hence, there is a need for an improved system and method for detecting the ground fault in the DC power transfer systems.